) but its hard for kids to know, when they see adults eating that junk whenever they want, that they shouldnt have it for every meal. Again, teaching that is just a matter of parenting, as you all have discussed, at least just teach your children good life skills like patience and self control, and then they have the tools to help them make their own decisions!!
I raised my kids on that philosphy. However, there was a big reward the day we ate at a friend's and were served chicken livers on spaghetti noodles. One child even went for the gold by asking for seconds. Turns out the two boys had something of a dare-you contest going.Kassaundra said:
. Good thing I didn't have $ most of the time.. Still, it strongly influenced my diet as a child and since. However, ours was a farm family and we ate a lot of meat. That has become fairly uncommon as American Adventists have become more urbanized and many, many are vegetarians.. I think it was Burt Wolf who wrote about how important Italian immigrants were to the American diet and the acceptance of vegetables. Vegetables were viewed as poor food and all the emphasis was placed on meat, bread & potatoes before Italian people arrived here beginning about 1890. I guess my family never got the message. Altho', I can still remember when the first pizza place came to town and when spaghetti was something new & different in the kitchen. Both sides of my family were on the frontier. After scrambling up and down the Pacific coast, civilization darn near caught up to us .
Just something that I have personally noticed and tagging off Heathers "self control" comments. I agree whole heartidly, however, I a had a revelation a few years ago that explained to me why people battle so hard with eating properly. Eating unhealthy, mostly sugary foods is an addiction type tendency for most. And there is sugar of some form in just about all commercially produced foods, even the ones that claim to be healthy. (I know this is not new, news to any of us) My point is, that any addiction is very difficult to break, however, a smoker does not "have" to smoke to stay alive, a alchoholic does not "have" to drink alcohol to stay alive, but someone who is addicted to "commercial, sugary food" does still have to eat to stay alive. I think that it makes it even harder for the population to get off the garbage food and on to the healthy food. It would be like a drug addict having to live in a crack house 24/7 and expecting them not to partake. (I appologize as any addiction is serious and I am not poking fun, just trying to make a point we can all see)NwMtGardener said:This has been a very interesting topic! I think one aspect of this debate that hasnt been mentioned is "self control" - kids dont seem to HAVE to practice it, ever. Its true, its biologically harder for us to resist salty and sweet foods, since they give us that "endorphine rush." BUT we all need to come to the realization that you cant just give in every time your brain tells you you NEED those fries! Or potato oles...which i had last night...*sigh* (i needed them, you see?
Wow, if you don't mind me saying so, that's pathetic! I've honestly never heard of someone (who isn't allergic) who doesn't like potatoes! I have a little rule about most foods: If I can't somehow grow it, or make it simply, I try not to get attached to eating it! This includes the 4 major food groups that are common today:lesa said:
